CANADIAN DISTILLER OF THE YEAR

These are early days for Ontario’s first micro-distillery – but all the signs are we’re seeing the birth of another world class whisky maker.

Still Waters is the creation of two Barrys – Stein and Bernstein – and the distillery only bottled its first single malt whisky in 2013.

That’s right – single malt from Canada. And the distillery isn’t stopping there – it’s also distilling a rye that has more in common with the bolder American versions than the Canadian take on the grain.

Canada observes the three year maturation rule so to fill in the time between distilling and bottling, Still Waters released its own blend, called 1+11 Canadian whisky. It’s very good indeed, an intriguing mix of citrus, spice honey and vanilla.

The single malt is released under the name Stalk & Barrel and is, unsurprisingly, very young and under-cooked. But it is extremely well made, has enough about it to capture the attention, and hints at greatness to come. It’s the whisky equivalent of young and untutored new singer – with bags of charisma, great pitch and tone, lots of power and style, but in need of harnessing and pointing in the right direction.

That will come with time, though. Still Waters has won a gold medal for its Canadian whisky and a silver for its Stalk & Barrel single malt.

A work in progress – but what a work!

Don’t miss the February edition of World Whisky Review online when the team behind Still Waters will be talking about how they came to be making single malt whisky in Canada, and where they are hoping to go next.